Lose Your Weight in Gold

Dubai is motivating its citizens to lose weight with gold as an incentive.

Gold image via Shutterstock.

Gold image via Shutterstock.

Last summer, Alabama held a weight loss contest that helped the 30,000 participants involved to lose almost 150,000 pounds. How did they do it? They paid them cash to lose weight. But Dubai is upping the weight loss incentive ante with gold.

The Dubai government announced Wednesday that they will be giving citizens a gram of gold for each kilogram lost by August 16, according to news reports from the Dubai area. That means that each two pound weight loss will cost the government $41 based on the current market rate.

The rules? Participants have to lose at least two kilos, or 4.4 pounds, to get their gold. After that, there appears to be no upper limit on how much weight a single person can lose, or how much gold a single person can receive. According to the Associated Press, participants just have to sign up and weigh in by this Friday because of the government’s concern over the health of their citizens:

The plan is the latest attempt to encourage healthier lifestyles in the United Arab Emirates. Across the Gulf Arab states, authorities have raised alarms about rising obesity from increasing fast-food diets and lack of exercise.

That’s one way to get your citizens to lost weight. Pay them! Clearly Dubai is an economic world of its own right now. Can you image getting $41 for every two pounds lost?